The Wind's Girl
by emeraldangel527
Summary: It has been five years since the next Great Prophecy had been announced and no sign of it being fulfilled. But when Nico finds two half-bloods that are as different as night and day, it might just change all of that. BEING REVISED! NO LONGER UPDATING!
1. Prologue

Prologue

"Are you sure you can keep her safe?" she heard her mom whisper to the rich man. She pressed her tiny body closer to the wall, afraid they would spot her if they just turned their vision ten degrees. She wasn't scared of getting caught, she had already pick pocketed her share of tourist wallets when she and her mom were living on the streets. And she was only eleven.

"You know me," she heard the rich man assure. The girl gritted her teeth, a habit she often did when she was frustrated. What were they hiding from her? She was so curious to find out. She craned her neck, trying to get her ear closer to the open window. "I've kept Carter, my daughter, safe," the rich man's voice got gentler. "Avalon, if you would just marry me, I could keep you safe, too."

The girl pressed her lips together, smothering the scream she wanted to let out. No way could she let more people into her life. Just trying to associate herself with them made her sick. She knew she was antisocial, but didn't see it as a problem like her mom did.

"I don't know if Andy will accept you, though," her mom said in defeat, as if she really wanted to marry him. "She can't trust people, you know. She grew up on the streets with me when we were broke. She's learned to trust by instinct, she always has to judge people before she knows them. It's tough, you know," she sighed. The girl fumed silently. How dare her mom talk about her most personal qualities as if they were a burden to her. How dare her mom keep something from her, in fact. That was the whole reason she had eavesdropped on their private conversation.

"Carter is her age, she can help her," the man persuaded, convincingly. "Just don't leave me," he said, quietly.

"Carter knows about everything, right?" her mom asked, cautiously. She assumed the man had nodded when her mom continued. "Has she been claimed?" Andy felt confused, not understanding what they were talking about. But she didn't like how fondly her mom had said the other girl's name. It was as if she had already accepted her as her daughter.

"Not yet, but she goes to camp," the man said. "Andy hasn't gone, has she?" She assumed her mom shook her head when the man said, "She should go soon. The claiming age is coming up in a few years." Andy could have laughed at how awkwardly the man had said her name but she was feeling too betrayed by her mom to be mean.

The man sighed softly. "I guarantee I can keep you two safe. I'll do anything to keep us all safe," he sounded almost pleading and desperate. "Just marry me. I love you."

"Ever since you picked me and Andy off the street," her mom reminisced, sounding far away and lost in thought. Andy grimly remembered that day that had changed their life. It had been a freezing cold January night two years ago, and they barely had a coat to protect themselves from the bone chilling winds. Andy remembered the sleek, shiny black limousine stop in front of them. She had never seen something so pretty up close. Then, the well-dressed handsome man stepped out of the car and hugged her mom. After that, they were provided a high-class house and everything they needed by that man. Andy had assumed the man's intentions before hearing what he had said today. "I've always known that you should have been the one for me. I was so foolish, running away from you after college. I should have never…" her mom stopped herself, as if the past hurt her too much to explain it. "I love you, too. And I say yes to marrying you."

She heard the man hoot with excitement. Andy backed away from the window, in disbelief to her mom's reactions. She wanted to cry from the way her mom had lied to her so much after promising there was nothing hidden between them. Andy had abided by that policy, but her mom had not. She felt no tears. She only felt hollow and numb.

"Andy?" a voice said behind her. Andy flinched and quickly whipped around. It was Carter, the cute red-haired girl her mom always complimented. She felt her rage boil over looking at her. "Is something wrong?" she said, reaching out for Andy's hand. Andy hated the way that she sounded genuinely concerned. She slapped Carter's hand away.

"Go away," she bluntly snapped, not in the mood to make up something to con the girl. Carter flinched, as if the words caused her a physical blow. Andy felt a pride in Carter's hurt expression. She was ready to stalk past Carter and into the garden where she hoped to gather her thoughts.

However, Carter blocked her path. Andy shot her a glare. If they made a scene here any longer, her mom and Carter's dad would notice.

"No," Carter said, defiantly, though her voice shook a little. Andy wanted to smirk or do something equally mean to Carter's meek comeback. Instead, she tried pushing past Carter, which Carter wouldn't allow her to do.

"Would you move?" Andy screamed, frustrated after unsuccessfully trying to get past her. She grabbed Carter's shoulders and pushed her aside with as much force she could muster. Carter gave in and fell to the concrete, skinning her knees and hands as she went down. She heard Carter sob loudly. Andy felt bad about what she had done to Carter but didn't know how to fix the situation. She turned her head to see her mom and Carter's dad running over to Carter worriedly. She was pushed aside as they went to attend to the fallen girl.

When Andy saw how gently her mom attended to Carter's wounds, a part of her broke inside. Her mom had never handled her that gently before, she always snapped at Andy to become strong and tough inside. But that was when they were living the lives of the homeless. Andy couldn't bear to see them any longer. She didn't want to see anyone for much longer. She ran off to the trees behind the garden, ungulfed by their overgrowing shrubbery and undergrowth. She knew no one could find her there, and was happy for that. There it was just her, the trees, and the wind gently caressing her hair comfortingly with its breeze.

From that day on, she never trusted her mom again. She never allowed people to get close to her. She never let them get past her cold, indifferent front. She never let herself trust people again. She was terrified of losing people the way she lost her mom. So she pushed them away from her.

That day, she truly became cruel.


	2. Chapter One: I Earn a Follower

Chapter One

_Warm hands cupped my face. I could feel the cold wind rushing around us, whipping my long hair around wildly. I held onto those hands, tracing the lines on them fondly. I could feel the warm breath heat my freezing, ice cold cheeks. I looked up to the face of those hands, but I realized I couldn't see anything. I tried to blink open my eyes, but my vision remained the same blank black. I desperately grabbed the hand, trying to find something tangible to hold onto. I screamed, paralyzed with fear, when it slipped from my grasp. I let myself fall to my knees and buried my head in my knees. I just sat there in the cold, empty area, not knowing what else to do._

"Andy! Andy! Wakey, wakey!" I heard a giggling voice from my right ear. I felt an eager hand try to shake me awake. I tried to ignore the voice and return to my not-so-peaceful sleep. I was good at that.

However, the person continued to stubbornly harass me. I groaned and turned my head over to the opposite side, not facing the person. I felt a sharp sting of pain from my neck as I did so. Giving up, I sat up in my chair from where I fell asleep, leaning over the desk. I saw my four-year old sister's smiling face greet me. I stared at her sourly for a moment, cranky from being woken up, then shook my head. I tried stretching my neck out, but it was still sore thanks to the crappy position I had dozed off in. Now it'll be like this all day, I thought bitterly, what a pain.

"What are you doing here so early?" I glared at Angel, who just smiled brightly back at me despite my harsh attitude, as she always did. She was the only one who still loved me devotedly, like all little kids had a tendency of doing, through my cold front.

"Carter was up already, so I came to see if you woke up," she just smiled at me innocently. I ran a hand through my hair and sighed, still thinking of my sore neck. I got up from my chair and picked Angel up with me. She giggled happily, she liked being picked up. She instinctively rested her small head against my shoulder and carried her to the kitchen where my stepsister, Carter, my mom, and my stepdad were preparing breakfast with delighted smiles on their faces. I looked harshly at the cheerful family, trying to determine if their smiles were genuine or an encouragement act, as I set Angel down at her seat at the breakfast table. Carter caught my glance and smiled a warm, charming smile. I deflected with a cold stare. Her shoulder-length auburn hair was pin-straight and accessorized with a white headband that matched her white blouse and knee-high socks. Her face was flawless and beautifully sickening as usual.

"I was wondering where Angel went," she smiled at me kindly. I just glared at her. "Your school uniform is in the closet on the left. We leave in ten minutes." When I didn't respond, her smile faded and she turned back to pouring glasses of orange juice. I smirked, amused that I had won our little confrontation, and walked back to our room.

The New York mansion was huge and elaborately decorated, thanks to Carter's dad. He was so rich from this oil-drilling business that he owned a couple other mansions in the U.S.A. Sadly, the mansion wasn't built with enough suites for every individual to have their own room, so they forced me and Carter to share. So much for trying to strengthen our "sisterly bond." I slammed the door shut to the room, just to spite my mom, who hated when I did that. Whatever, I was in a bad mood, causing me to act even more cold and harsh than usual, thanks to seeing my perfect family too early. I usually prepared myself after I've completely woken myself up to go downstairs.

I brushed my teeth as I searched for which closet in our huge room that Carter had stuffed my new school uniform in. Yes, we moved again. Ever since my mom married Carter's dad three years ago, we were often changing which major city we lived in. I had been pretty much born and raised in New York City, so I guess I was glad to be back in the restless city.I didn't really get why Carter's dad decided to ship his family around every few months, but I couldn't really complain or else my mom would probably kill me.

After digging around Carter's clothes pile she left conveniently left near where she placed my uniform, I finally emerged with the uniform. It looked clean and preppy, a long sleeve white polo shirt, navy blue wool vest with the school emblem sewed neatly on top, and a checkered red and black skirt. I quickly pulled on the uniform along with some knee high black socks to defend myself from the cold outside. I thought it was really pointless to have girls continue to wear rather short skirts to school even in the winter, especially in New York. I grabbed one of Carter's winter coats and a scarf to give me extra protection against the cold. I brushed my long, silky black hair absentmindedly and hurried to get out the door. The ten minutes Carter had given me were almost up.

As I passed her in the hall with my messenger bag waywardly slung over my shoulder, she looked at me with an astonished look on her face. I just ignored her stares, knowing she was going to get mad at me for wearing her coat. I pulled on my favorite pair of beat-up sneakers and walked straight out the door, not even waiting for Carter.

"Andy!" I heard her call after me in a shrill voice. I looked up at the sky before stepping off the porch. It was covered with pretty puffy gray clouds, indicating snow. The ground was already covered with the astonishingly white substance from the night before. I started walking to school, ignoring the snowflakes falling down on me along with my stepsister's whiny cries.

"Andy, wait up!" she cried, finally catching up to me. She was puffing loudly from her sprint to catch up to me. I didn't even look at her, just lengthened my stride as I attempted to distance myself from her. Sadly, she had longer legs than me, so she easily evened her pace with me. She looked down at me and took in what I was wearing. I didn't even zip up the coat.

"Aren't you cold?" she looked at me worriedly. She was layered up, with at least a sweater and two overcoats on top of the uniform. She looked puffy in all the layers. It was actually pretty humorous-looking.

I shrugged indifferently and turned the corner sharply. I saw a lot of other kids our age layered up like Carter walking in our same direction. I felt my shoes squish the slushy snow near the street. It was a comforting feeling, reminding me of when I was young. I adjusted my bag over my shoulder and entered the gates of the private school. Carter followed me, smiling excitedly.

"Aren't you excited?" she asked me as we walked through the school's courtyard. The large water fountain was still spurting water even though it was snowing, covered with little icicles hanging off the sides. I sighed, hoping that I wouldn't have any classes with Carter. A girl could only hope.

I just continued to ignore Carter and walked over to the registration office to get my schedule. Carter eagerly followed me, smiling at the passing by students charmingly. A few guys our age smiled back at her. I rolled my eyes and pulled open the door to the office, the warm air rushing into my cold cheeks. I almost crashed into someone and caught myself before I could. The person looked down at me carefully, wondering which direction I would walk past in. I looked up at the person, the top of my head only reached the bridge of his nose. He looked about my age with dark silky hair falling into his even darker, deep eyes and olive skin. There was something haunting about those eyes, as if they were the doorways to death. I glared back nonetheless, and he looked startled by my cold attitude. I walked straight on, bumping into his left shoulder in the process, hard. Carter just smiled at him brightly, as if she was apologizing for me. I just roughly grabbed my schedule from the sullen-looking attendance lady and rushed to the main building to find my locker. Carter continued to trail after me all the way and even squealed when she found out our lockers were right by each other. I was getting seriously annoyed at her persistence to befriend me when two girls our age popped by our lockers.

"Carter Esphair? Is that you?" I heard the girl with the long blonde hair scream excitedly. I ignored the scene they were creating right next to me and continued to stuff my extra books into my locker. So this is how they act at Pensely Academy, I thought to myself, like spoiled brats.

"Oh my god, is that you, Olivia?" Carter screamed back, equally excited. I had an urge to punch my locker, hard, from their annoying behavior. God, I needed anger management lessons. On the outside, however, I always remained cold and indifferent even though I was seething on the inside.

"You're finally back!" squealed the brunette, looking just as excited, if not more than, as my stepsister and her friend. They had some kind of hugging session that sickened me.

After lots of "Oh my god, you look great" and "Oh my god, look at that hunk," Carter finally remembered me, as I was trying to tug my bag strap free from the locker door I had slammed shut from my annoyance. She grabbed my wrist and dragged me over to her friends.

"This is my sister, Andromeda," she smiled at them encouragingly. They looked at me with those fake smiles plastered on their face. I just stared at them coldly, trying to get them to break their act. I hated fakers.

"I'm Olivia," said the blonde, tossing her long, princess curls over her shoulder boastfully. Now that I had a closer look at her, she looked like the type of person who would whine for diamonds on her brow. Pretty, rich, and preppy could also be used to describe her. I looked at the brunette at her side. She looked like the sidekick, the lady-in-waiting. Her hair was long and glossy and she towered over petite Olivia. Her eyes were this innocent hazel color. She smiled at me shyly, as if she didn't know what to say to me. "And this is Amy," Olivia introduced for her. "Are you Carter's little sister?"

"Olivia!" Carter laughed half-heartedly. "We're about the same age!" She looked at me with some urging in her eyes, as if trying to get me to play along. I shot her a "not going to happen" look.

"Oh!" Olivia giggled as if she found it very amusing. She seemed like an airhead. "Sorry. Do you go by a nickname? Andromeda is kind of a mouthful," she smiled at me widely, exposing her pearly white teeth. "Can I call you Andy? Or how about And?" she suggested.

"Just don't talk to me," I said bluntly. "That solves your problem." I walked away, my schedule in hand, trying to find where my first period was.

I heard Olivia scoff behind me. "I was just trying to be nice!" I heard her pout. "Because she's your sister." I smirked to myself and walked on.

I reached the classroom at the end of the hall. I stopped outside of it, looking in and trying to investigate what type of learning environment it would be. My thoughts were broken when I heard Carter call for me.

"Andy!" she called. I gave a sharp glance in her direction. She pulled me back toward the office. I stared at her hand wrapped around my arm, as if staring at it could burn it away. "Olivia told me all new students start off at the office, then go to their first class," she said. "What's your first class?" she eagerly asked me.

"World history," I grumbled. It was the only normal eleventh grade class I had. Everything else my mom and Carter's dad put me in were advanced classes. Her face lit up as if saying that made her day.

"Oh my god! Me too!" she said, excitedly. She grabbed my schedule from my hands and compared it to hers. "We have all classes together!"

I sighed and prepared myself for a long day.

Nico di Angelo was sulking in his seat in his first period class. The teacher, Mr. Robert, was just droning on and on about Swahili. Like anyone was paying attention. He brushed his long bangs out of his eyes and stuck his hands in his baggy black jeans. Everyone considered him a rebel for that. Oh my gosh, he's not wearing the school uniform pants, someone call the police.

He sometimes wondered why he let Chiron enroll him in school. Maybe because life in Camp Half-Blood was getting dry.

"Go experience something new," Chiron had told him a day before he informed him that they would ship him off to go bunk with some Hermes kid in New York so that he could go to private school. Nico was still feeling a little bitter towards Chiron because of that. He was sick of being stuck next to all the private school preppies every day.

"And that is why…" Mr. Robert trailed off on his lecture when he saw an office attendant walk in. She shot Nico a disapproving look but just went over to Mr. Robert and whispered something in his ear. Everyone else started murmuring as the two adults discussed. Nico wondered if it would be funny if he suddenly opened a crack in the middle of the classroom right then. He closed his eyes trying to imagine the image. An amused smile tugged at his lips as he imagined Mr. Robert's paled face at the gaping crack in the middle of his speckless classroom. Light, new footsteps treading the front of the classroom forced open Nico's eyes. He saw two girls walk in and stand by the white board in the front of the classroom.

The first girl was tall with a feminine figure. Her face was all sharp and angles, pretty yet strange, and she had these stormy sea gray eyes that radiated warmth. The smile that tugged on her lips seemed genuine, as if she was actually really happy to be in Mr. Robert's classroom. Straight, auburn hair was neatly restrained by a white headband. From where he was sitting, Nico noticed that her long legs were slim and graceful-looking. He blushed at the thought. The way the girl carried herself was graceful in general, he couldn't imagine her stumbling. She was striking and glamorous, but not exactly beautiful. Not like the girl next to her.

The girl next to her was slightly shorter than the other girl, but looked even smaller compared to the other girl due to how thin she was. Her knees, not covered by her high black socks, looked bony. She had almost waist-length, silky ebony-black hair. It had a startling affect compared to her fair skin. Her face was so breathtakingly beautiful, built delicately unlike the other girl's. The most startling feature was her eyes. They were a mesmerizing sea blue and radiated innocence. When he looked a little further, he could see those eyes were looking coldly around the classroom, as if she really didn't want to be there. Not that he blamed her. The expression on her face was indifferent, maybe even a little mad. Nico couldn't help but think her lovely even as she glared.

She looks familiar, he thought to himself, but couldn't place it. His ADHD made it hard for him to recall things like that.

"This is Carter and Andromeda Esphair. They're going to be attending Pensely with you guys," Mr. Robert awkwardly introduced the two girls. Nico rolled his eyes at his lame introduction. "Do you want to say anything to the class, girls?" Mr. Robert asked the girls, trying to make the atmosphere less awkward.

The auburn-haired girl, Carter, eagerly piped up. "Hi, I'm Carter! I hope we can all become good friends!" If it was another girl, everyone would have thought her a freak, but with Carter's smile, she captivated the whole class. "This is my sister, Andromeda. I hope you can welcome her, too!" Andromeda's look changed to an even more threatening one. If looks could kill, Carter would be long dead. Carter looked at Andromeda expectantly, as if waiting for Andromeda to introduce herself. Andromeda, oblivious to Carter's glance, remained quiet.

"Carter, you can sit next to Adam over there," Mr. Robert pointed to her seat next to the popular boy. Adam shot her a wink that would make other girls swoon. Carter just smiled back at him as she walked to her seat. She gracefully sat down in her seat across the room from Nico. Every guy in the room watched her as she did so.

"As for Andromeda, you can sit next to…" Mr. Robert caught Nico's glance in the corner of his eye. He stared at the vacant seat next to Nico. "Nico in the back corner." Andromeda just soundlessly walked over to Nico, without pretty smiles like Carter. Before reaching her seat, she stared hard at Nico. He felt her pretty sea blue eyes pin him down. When he looked closer, he saw that her eyes looked like they were full of knowing, as if she knew what he had for breakfast. They analyzed him. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat as she continued to stare at him.

Suddenly, she broke his gaze and bent over to tap his shoulder. A strand of her long hair tickled his cheek. He flinched away, surprised by her unexpected action. She glared at him expectantly, as if waiting for him to do a backflip. He just stared back at her. She rolled her eyes, frustrated after a minute of waiting.

"Can you scoot in?" she finally spoke, the first words he heard uttered by her. No please. No hint of politeness in that voice. It was a pretty voice, soothing like the wind chimes tinkling to the breeze. It was astonishing to hear it utter such harsh words, though. He clumsily scooted in and waited for her to pass.

She silently sat down in her seat. No thank you, he noticed. He studied her carefully. She seemed even more beautiful up close, even though he only saw the curve of her jaw line. Her pale cheek looked smooth and soft, giving Nico an urge to stroke it. He gave himself a mental slap in the face at that thought. Stop it, Nico, he told himself, and pay attention to Swahili.

Andromeda reached into her bag for a notebook and pencil as Mr. Robert lectured on, continuing from where he had left off. Nico wondered if she was going to take notes, not like anyone really did. She opened the notebook quietly and took up her pencil. Nico's eyes fixated on the pencil, watching as it rapidly moved across the page, sketching out an image. She was a very good artist, the sketch looked near a photograph in how accurate it was. The pencil suddenly stopped moving. He craned his neck to look at the sketch. It was half-finished, a grassy hill with a single lone pine tree sitting on its peak. A three-fourths completed dragon curled around the tree with flames spurting out of its wide, gaping mouth. A cloth hung on one of the tree's low branches. Nico's eyes widened at the familiar sight. Half-Blood Hill, he thought, how does she know what it looks like? Is she a camper? The pencil starting moving again. He moved his gaze up to the girl's face. He was astonished at her position.

Her hand cradled her face as she stared out the window at the courtyard. Snow was falling softly outside. She seemed to be staring into space, not even looking at the paper as she was drawing. It was as if her hand was possessed. He looked at her strangely, not sure what to make of her. She suddenly turned her head to him, catching his glance. He quickly looked away, startled. Her sea blue eyes had a sharp gaze that could rival his dark one. He didn't dare challenge it.

She finally averted her gaze after studying him for a moment. She gathered her long, dark hair into a bun and stuck her pencil in it to keep it together. He heard her sigh and tap her fingers into a beat on the desk they shared, as if she were counting the seconds until she was out of Mr. Robert's class and able to get away from Nico.

When the bell for break rang, I practically bounced out of my seat. I couldn't wait to get out of that boring-to-the-death classroom and away from that sullen guy that sat next to me. I vaguely remember I crashed into him that morning at the office. He looked like a troublemaker, with that dark hair that fell into his eyes and uncomprehendable glint in his eyes. I couldn't read his expression, maybe because he didn't have one. Sadly, as I got away from that, I walked right into Carter who had been waiting for me outside the classroom.

"Wasn't that so interesting?" Carter said, trying to get me to talk. She had been paying attention to the dull lecture our weathered teacher had been giving. I, on the other hand, couldn't pay attention to anything for more than ten minutes. Darn ADHD. "Swahili is so cool!"

I snorted at her comment. I saw her wave to Adam, the tall blonde-haired blue-eyed boy who she sat next to and befriended. He shot her a flirtatious wink in which she blushed at receiving. I had an urge to snort again, but pushed the idea away as I realized someone from the corner of my eye. I narrowed my eyes without turning back to look at the person. I just tucked a strand of hair that had pulled free from my bun behind my ear and walked to my next class, Calculus.

Carter walked in with me and promptly dragged me up to the teacher with her. Her grip was like a vise around my thin arm.

"Hi! We're new students in your class. We'd like to know where to sit," Carter said, a bright smile shining on her face. The teacher turned to look at us. As soon as I looked at the teacher's face, I knew something was wrong.

The teacher had these too big neon green bug eyes on a face with wrinkled features. I assumed it was a she, but it was hard to tell due to the gnarled facial features. Her long hair was brown and stringy, not very complimenting. She was bone thin, so thin that it was hard to look at her with her bones jutting out at the joints. I tugged Carter's arm insistently. She smiled at me as if there was nothing wrong. I shot her a warning glance.

"Carter, I have to go to the bathroom," I said in a whiny voice, hoping my act was persuading enough for her to believe me. She looked at me as if I said the most ridiculous thing in the world.

"You can sit there," the teacher croaked, pointing her bony finger at the table up in the front. At that moment, the guy I had sat next to in History walked into the classroom. He looked astonished to see us there, but even more astonished when he saw the teacher, as if he had never seen her before. That second I knew something was very, very wrong.

He walked over to us, interrupting the teacher who had opened her mouth and was prepared to speak. She looked at him sourly with her scrunched up face but stayed cautiously silent. I looked at him sharply with a glance that said, "What's going on here?" He shot me a glare that said, "Shut up." And so I did.

"Hey, Carter and Andromeda, right?" he said, his voice sounding as if he didn't really want to talk. I looked at him with a questioning glare but let him continue. "I wanted to show you around the school. Follow me." I rolled my eyes at his lame excuse to get away from the teacher. The teacher just narrowed her eyes at him, as if she suspected something fishy.

"That's awfully nice of you but class is starting soon," Carter politely declined. The guy actually looked genuinely disappointed. I gritted my teeth wondering if he was actually trying to save us here or if he just wanted to hit on Carter.

"Come on, Carter," I urged convincingly, as if I really wanted to go. "The teacher will understand. We didn't get a tour around here, so…" I trailed off, interrupted by the teacher's expression. She looked outraged, like she was angry times a hundred. I backed up and pulled Carter with me. The teacher's figure was becoming blurry, as if she was switching forms at supersonic speed. When I blinked again, she had sprouted these shriveled, leather, ugly black wings. Her eyes became dark, empty, bottomless pits. Carter whimpered behind me, as if she saw the same thing as I saw. The guy was pulling me and Carter away from her.

"You will be going nowhere," the teacher hissed in a shrill voice. She lunged for me but I instinctively jumped out of the way. She glared at me, if that was possible with her holes for eyes.

"Run!" the guy called to me and Carter. I started sprinting immediately, not even sure of where I was going. Carter grabbed the guy's wrist and started running with him. He tried to go back, and I wondered why he would even think of doing that. I sprinted my way through the crowds of people, who just looked at me strangely. I kept running, just to get as far away as possible from that creature.

I found myself in empty corridors when I became aware of where I was. I heard footsteps slapping the floor behind me. I could hear them gaining on me. I pushed myself faster, not looking back in fear of seeing the teacher. I felt my pencil that held my hair back in a bun fall out and my long hair whip behind me as I ran. I looked behind me and found no one there. I frowned and slowed my pace a bit, sure that someone had been behind me. I heard loud, rumbling growls in the distance. They didn't sound as far away as they should have been. I turned and looked behind me once more and saw the empty corridor again.

Then, I felt a strong arm pull me towards a little nook in the hallway and a warm hand cover my mouth. I widened my eyes in surprise, not sure of what to do, whether to fight against or let myself be taken away. I slumped back against the person in defeat.

I made the right choice.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Yay! New story is up! Hope whoever's reading enjoys it. Please review! They are greatly appreciated.**

**I'm going to be trying to juggle two stories, so I might update a little slower. But keep an eye out for updates if you enjoy this!**

**~emeraldangel527**


	3. Chapter Two: I Lie For My Own Good

Chapter Two

"Let me go!" Nico snapped at Carter, who was desperately trying to get him away from the monster. He knew it was a Fury, but was just surprised that it would come to school. As he knew, there were only him and the Hermes kid as half-bloods. And it wasn't like Hermes kids were that big of a deal and not like his father to send his own monsters after him… right?

"You want to go back there?" the girl shrieked angrily at him. "Go back there and let that Fury kill you?" He flinched, shocked at how she knew about the Fury. She tugged on his sleeve forcefully, dragging him across the hall.

"Are you a half-blood?" Nico asked the girl. She just sighed and attempted to pull him away faster. She's persistent, Nico thought bitterly, like a pesky fly. He yanked his arm from her grasp. She looked at him with astonished wide eyes.

"Are you a half-blood or not?" he yelled harshly at her, annoyed by her clinging onto him. He hated when people touched him without his consent.

"Yes, I am! Now are you going to get away or not?" she snapped, frustrated. He snapped his mouth shut after that, feeling a little surprised that this girl who had been smiling a few minutes before was now snapping at him. He let her drag him away. After a moment, they stopped walking. Carter whipped her head around, letting go of his sleeve. She had a worried look in her eyes.

"Where's Andy?" she said, her voice shaking nervously. She searched wildly around the crowd. "I thought she was behind us," she whispered, as if she couldn't believe it. Nico looked desperately with her, trying to search for the dark-haired girl, thinking bitterly at the same time of how they managed to leave her behind.

Carter grabbed his arm desperately. "Can you find her, please?" she said, with a pretty gleam in her eyes. "I can protect myself, it's just that Andy can't," she frowned, as if thinking about a sore subject. Nico thought it was kind of funny, the other girl looked like she was tougher than Carter, yet she couldn't protect herself?

"Do you even have a weapon? What if the Fury comes for you?" Nico snapped at her, though he was inwardly a little concerned whether or not she would be ok. He wondered why the Fury hadn't come after him and Carter; the scent of two half-bloods would be stronger and more luring than one.

Carter took off her headband. It slowly elongated into a gracefully carved ivory wood bow. "What about you?" she said, sounding a little concerned. He whipped out his black bladed knife from his pants pocket. She nodded in encouragement though she herself looked scared to death. He took off, not sure where to look first.

He shuffled through the crowd as fast as he could, looking for a glimpse of dark hair. He felt the surrounding students' wondering glares directed at him, but ignored them. He eyes wildly scanned the crowd. If I don't find her quick, he thought, she's toast with the Fury. And then I am so dead. His dark eyes hit a sight he couldn't tear them away from.

The Fury was desperately searching around the abandoned wings of the school building. The crowd of students that walked by all cleared a wide berth around her, looking at her strangely. He wasn't sure what they were seeing, but he imagined it wasn't a very pretty sight either. He wrestled his way through the crowd to get to the hideous monster. Wherever she was going was probably near the girl, if she was even a half-blood. What had her sister said? "I can protect myself, it's just that Andy can't," he recalled.

As he neared, the Fury didn't seem to notice him. Strange, he thought bitterly, I should have a bigger presence. Have I gotten demoted? The Fury was just standing there, looking around, as if she couldn't seem to figure out where the girl had gone. Nico took this chance to slip past her, breaking into a run down the empty corridor. He heard thudding footsteps getting louder and louder as he ran down the hallway. He speeded up and turned the corner, spotting the girl. She was a fast runner, he realized bitterly and had to sprint to close the large gap she was creating between them. He realized that as he approached, she just pushed herself faster. He wanted to scream at her to slow down, but was in fear that he'd attract attention from the Fury. He reached his arm out, trying to grab onto a part of her to slow her down, but only reached the pen in her hair, which was already falling out. He yanked at it, as if it could hold her back. Of course, it didn't, the pen just clattered on the floor and the girl just kept on running. He slowed down a bit, panting hard. He heard moans behind him and whispered some cusses to himself.

Darn that girl, he thought, running again. He cut into a smaller hallway, knowing it would meet up with the one the girl was running on. Sure enough, he saw her at the end of it, her pace slowed a bit. He looked around him. The growls and howling seemed to be getting closer, but there was no sign of the Fury. He rushed toward the girl, who had just stopped there, whipping her head around as if she was trying to locate the Fury. Nico could feel the Fury's presence grow closer and tensed because of it. He looked at the girl and yanked her toward him, a hand clasped over her mouth so she couldn't scream and attract the Fury's attention anymore.

He was surprised when she gave into him. She looked up at him through the hair that covered her face. Those blue eyes burned holes through him. Then, she averted her eyes back to the hallway. He followed her gaze.

There was the Fury.

* * *

I could feel warm breath on my neck. I tensed, being so close to a person made me uncomfortable. I dared to peer up at the person, and wasn't surprised to find it that boy. I looked back at hallway, anticipating the monster teacher would come out soon. I was staying still for my own good, I tried telling myself, though I really wanted to run away.

I wasn't the type of person to get scared easily, but when the monster came into view again, I think I let out a little scream, muffled by the guy's hand over my mouth. He kneed me in the back, hard. I vowed to kill him later, but stayed silent.

He flung me away to the side when the monster started walking closer. He had this little puny black-bladed knife. I wondered why he had got that into school in the first place, but in our situation, I doubted that would kill the monster. It was almost humorous, that he was being so brave with a tiny weapon. I wanted to run away, but watching him approach the monster was like watching a suspense movie that glued you in place. I couldn't turn my eyes away from the scene.

Suddenly, the monster turned to our direction, spotting us. The monster seemed to stare right past the boy, right at me. It smiled a evil smile and came closer to us. It's gaze had me pinned in place from fear. It's going to kill me, I thought to myself. I willed my feet to run or at least move away from the monster, to turn my back on the scene. I lifted my right foot off the ground and slowly put it behind me, taking a uncertain step back. The monster had seen me move, and in a flash hurtled past the guy to get to me. He slashed his knife down on her body, a quick and confident movement. The monster still didn't stop, coming toward me at full speed. I was frozen in place, unsure of what to do in a very sudden life-or-death situation like this.

It stopped before its claws could scrape me. It smiled that savage smile once again. "Andromeda West," it hissed. I leaned away from it, still unable to function my legs due to the monster's overwhelming presence. "You will never guess how great your future will be. The gods have foreseen it! Oh, it is great!" the monster cackled, as if what it was saying was very funny. "Too bad it will all end today!" it shrieked as it lunged for me. While it had been babbling crazy talk, I had seen the boy directing his knife right at the monster's supposed heart. It all clicked in place for me at that moment. I kicked the monster as hard as I could in the chest. Its eyes widened, in the shock of my sudden movement, and barreled into the knife.

There was a sickening sound of piercing flesh when it connected with the knife. Seconds later, the monster dissolved into this green powder. I watched the whole scene in disbelief, not believing it was even happening. Then I looked up and saw the boy covered in the monster powder, walking toward me.

"Are you ok?" he said, coming toward me. I felt my whole body trembling, as if it physically did not want to believe the whole incident had happened. But there was the powder, my eyes were telling me. He stopped in front of me and studied me carefully.

"Did you get hurt or something? You're shaking really badly," he said, his monotonous voice actually sounding a little concerned. I had an urge to scoff at his obvious observation. But I really had to get away from him. Maybe running away from him would make this all not true. My body recoiled from him, though he was a good two feet away from me. I turned around and ran from him.

"Hey! Where are you going?" I heard him call angrily after me. I hardly heard him because my mind kept replaying the monster's scaly, hissing voice that kept slithering into my thoughts.

_Andromeda West_, it had said. _You will never guess how great your future will be._

What disturbed me wasn't that it had told me that it knew my future. It freaked me out that it had known my real name.

_Andromeda West. Andromeda West. Andromeda West._ The hissing voice kept calling me in my head.

* * *

I ran into Carter on my way back. Literally, ran into her. It was almost a full-on collision except that she caught me by the shoulders before I crashed into her. I wasn't really paying attention to where I was running and took the time to mentally curse myself for doing that again. She looked behind me, as if she was expecting the guy to be behind me. She looked back at me, with obvious happiness filling her eyes.

"I'm so glad you're ok!" she exclaimed, shaking my rather frail shoulders. I yanked her arms off of me. She smiled nonetheless. I hated her for that. "What happened to the Fury?"

"Fury?" I asked, coldly. I started to wonder if she was as crazy as that monster. "What's that?"

"Oh, I mean…" she said, trying to conceal her mess-up. I glared sternly at her. "I mean that teacher."

"It's gone and dead," I snapped at her, knowing she was probably hiding something from me. "Exploded into dust." I made a move to push past her, but she caught my arm. I glared up at her, peering at her gray-blue eyes full of innocence. "Let me go," I snarled. She didn't let go.

"Don't tell Mom or Daddy about this, ok?" she asked in a quiet voice. I narrowed my eyes at her, wondering if this secret was so big that even our parents didn't know.

"What is this all about?" I asked, brushing off her question. "What was that all about?" I pointed backwards from the direction I had come from. She looked nervous as if she was under pressure.

"The less you know the better," she told me after a long silence of thinking. I was tempted to press her harder, but knew she wouldn't reveal anything more even if I did. I sighed, defeated.

"Not like I say much at home anyway," I mumbled, yanking my arm from her hands and walking back to the Calculus classroom. Her face broke out into a wide, pearly smile and quickly followed me. It was probably halfway through the period already.

I heard new footsteps behind us. I turned abruptly and faced that guy. He looked pretty pissed to see my face. I just turned back and continued to walk back to class.

"Do you think the Mist took care of everything?" I heard Carter whisper to the guy. She was trying hard not to let me hear, but her voice wasn't exactly quiet to begin with.

"Of course," I heard the guy scoff, as if he thought her question was ridiculous. Or maybe he was just still pissed. "It always does," he reassured her.

"Thanks for taking care of that Fury back there," Carter said. I rolled my eyes. Always that thanks-giving Carter. "You're Nico, right?" she asked, shyly. I wanted to laugh at her attempts to use her charms on a guy like that. It was silly. Why even waste the effort?

"Yeah," he said, indifferent to her innocent puppy eyes I could just imagine her making at him. "You said you were a half-blood, right?" he asked her. Of course, I thought bitterly, talking nonsense I am apparently better off not knowing. "Are you claimed?"

"No," Carter said, sounding ashamed. "No, not yet," she said, hope filling the ashamed voids in her voice that she had the moment before.

"How long has it been?" he asked, sounding genuinely curious. "Everyone's claimed after a week after they come now."

"It's been at least four years since I've first been to camp," she said, quietly. The guy just shut up after hearing that. I begged the Calculus classroom to move over closer to us so we wouldn't have to walk together for so long.

When we walked in, I saw a short, stout young woman pointing at something on the whiteboard. After a moment, my dyslexia determined it to be some kind of equation. I had never seen this lady in my life before and wondered why the heck she was standing there.

"Oh! You must be the new students! Nico! What are you doing with them?" she exclaimed in a flustered, flamboyant way. Nico looked at her strangely for a second, then shrugged at her. He walked back to his seat in the second row.

"Hi, I'm Mrs. Bryan," the woman introduced herself happily. I stared at her strangely. "I'm the Calculus teacher," she smiled at us brightly.

"How long have you been teaching here?" I bluntly asked, to clear my confusion of why she was here. She continued to smile, unfazed by the question.

"I've been here since the start of this year," she replied. I frowned. This didn't make any sense.

"We'd like to know where to sit," Carter said, breaking the tension I had made. She shot me a warning glance. That didn't clear things up any more.

"How about those two empty chairs next to Nico?" she asked encouragingly. I wanted to curse whatever fate I had to end up near him again.

_You will never know guess how great your future will be_, that monster had told me. I grimaced. What great of a future I had to have to be near that crazy guy again.

* * *

"How was your day today?" my mom asked when we walked into the foyer where she was braiding Angel's dark hair. Angel and I were the outsiders in the perfect family, our hair was the identical ebony-black while my mom, Carter's dad, and Carter all had fair-colored hair.

I ignored her and walked up the stairs to our room. Her question was only directed at Carter anyway, as they always were. My mom had basically stopped caring about me after marrying Carter's dad. Not like she had been tender and caring with me ever, like she was with Carter.

"It was great, Mom!" Carter exclaimed, rushing over to mom and Angel. "Pensely is an awesome school! I made so many new friends today. Not to mention that I saw Olivia and Amy again!"

"That's great, honey!" my mom exclaimed, sounding genuinely interested. I wondered if she actually was. I just shut the door to our room to shut out their conversation. I pulled out my school books from my bag and started on the load of homework I had to force myself through. I knew I would start fidgeting ten minutes into it due to my ADHD and my dyslexia would make the reading difficult. It would take at least six hours to get this homework done. I sighed, ran a hand frustratedly through my hair and started to stumble through the math problems. I bit the end of my pencil, concentrating.

I struggled through the homework for three hours, constantly losing attention. But I walked away to dinner with half of it done. Not like I was actually planning to eat dinner with my family.

"Andy!" Angel said, scrambling toward me. I turned to look at her. "Andy, play with me!" I didn't know why I felt so attached to my little sister, she wasn't even blood-related to me.

I bent down to match her eye level. "Andy has to finish hard homework," I told her. "So don't bother. I'll play with you on the weekend," I picked her up and set her into her dining chair. "Now you have to eat, ok?" She just smiled at me, devotedly.

"Promise!" she said, sticking out her chubby pinkie finger. I reluctantly pinkie promised her. Angel liked demanding promises from everyone. It was kind of annoying, yet assuring at the same time. It was probably a habit that wouldn't change even as she grew up.

I grabbed one of the takeout boxes that my mom had set out on the counter. She looked at me sternly, as if she wanted to force me to eat dinner with them, but she remained silent. I smirked meanly in satisfaction of her silence and started to walk away.

"Did something happen at school today?" my mom said, coldly. I turned to face her, my glare staring her down hard. She didn't even flinch. It was her, anyway, that had taught me to be like this. My mom was the only one who could rival me in being harsh. I hated her.

"No," I lied, airily as if nothing was wrong. I was a good liar thanks to her. Not that I was proud of it. "Why?" I said, putting what sounded like genuine curiosity in my voice.

"Carter was acting a little strange, that's all," she brushed off, using some of her lying techniques against me. I narrowed my eyes at her, but just turned around and walked back upstairs to my welcoming homework.

I was so focused on trying to finish my homework that I had barely touched the spaghetti that was supposed to be my dinner. I sighed and just went to the kitchen to throw them out. Carter's dad came into the kitchen just I was about to drop the almost-full box of noodles into the trash can.

Carter's dad was this tall, big man. Every bit of him, from his graying blond hair to his clean toes, was imposing. He was a gentle, kind man it seemed, but he just looked like he could crush you.

"You didn't eat?" he asked me, sounding genuinely worried. I held the box in my hands, frozen at his comment. Carter's dad tried to care for me, he watched over me with concern and all, but he had never really talked to me. Mostly because he was busy, but also because he didn't know what to say to me.

"I did," I said, telling a white lie. "There was just a lot of spaghetti." I was about to drop the box in the trash when he stopped me. I glared at him but let him take the box and put it in the refrigerator.

"That's why you're so skinny," he said, looking at my thin frame with disapproval. "It's not healthy to be like that."

"I'm fine," I brushed off his concerns. "I finished my homework and all," I added, trying to get him off my back. He sighed to himself.

"I congratulate your hard work, efforts, and success in school," he said, sighing as if he were talking to a child who didn't get his point. "But it's almost eleven o'clock and you're not even near sleeping as it appears. I know you have ADHD and dyslexia like Carter, but you don't need to push yourself so hard. It's not good for you," he lectured me. I waited until he was done, then turned back to go back to my room.

"Good night," he called after me. I looked back at him, surprised he had bothered to bid me such a small phrase. I turned back, just as quick and prepared myself for bed.

When I entered the room, I could hear Carter's even breathing, telling me she was already fast asleep. I wondered if she had done her homework or not. I bet on the latter. I took a quick, refreshingly warm shower and brushed my teeth.

It was probably nearing twelve o'clock when I climbed into bed. I closed my eyes and tried to forget about today to sooth myself and drift off to a peaceful sleep.

I wasn't aware of when I fell asleep, but once I was asleep, I was out cold. In my dream's eye, I was in a very dark landscape. I heard movement near me, but the place was so pitch black I couldn't see anything. I stumbled around, trying to find whatever was moving. I hated feeling so blind and helpless and silently cursed to myself as I clumsily drew myself closer to the movement.

A part of me knew that this was all a dream, but I didn't really acknowledge it. My eyes started adjusting to the darkness. I could make out two figures, people I assumed. I walked closer to them, wondering what the heck they were doing in such a dark place. I heard words being spoken between them.

"Someone is here, Nico," a girl's voice said. "Someone more powerful than you can even imagine. A fate so great that it is almost unimaginable. The gods have foreseen it," she continued. Again with that fate/future thing. I wondered why so many people were spouting the same junk about gods and stuff.

"What's this all about, Bianca?" I heard a familiar voice yell, frustrated-sounding. I narrowed my eyes. That guy. What was up with this dream of mine?

"This isn't your dream," I heard a voice in my head. I stood still, too confused to move a step closer to the two people. Not my dream? Was that nonsense even possible? If not my dream, then who's?

"Until we meet again, Nico," the girl said. "Don't wait too eagerly for me, brother." One figure seemed to just disappear, dissolve into thin air. The other figure just looked down at their feet, a defeated gesture. He then fell to his knees and screamed, as if he had so much pain in him that he never let out until screaming. I flinched at the scene but stood there all the same. Then, an extremely tall figure came out of the shadows and stood in front of the fallen figure.

"Get up, my pathetic son," the new figure spit at the kneeling down figure. I actually admired how cold the new voice had sounded. But it also felt like death was crawling under your skin by hearing it. "Your sister is gone, let her go! Stop meeting her through your dreams!" the voice raised its volume to emphasize its point. The bent down figure tried to get up, but the tall figure savagely threw him down again. I hear a loud thud as the person hit the ground. Then the tall figure disappeared as well, as sudden as it had come.

That guy remained so quiet and still I thought he was dead or passed out. I watched him from afar. After a while, he peeled himself off the ground so he was on his knees. I saw some scrapes on his face, from when the other person had pushed him. He looked right at me with those dark, haunting eyes. The doors of death seemed to be right there.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice dripping with hate and bitterness. "Go away! Get out of my dream!" he screamed, lashing out at me. I glared hard and cold at him, though I wasn't sure if he saw it.

"I wish I knew how," I muttered to myself bitterly. I turned away from him and left him to collapse again. I walked away, as if that could take me away from this dream that seemed so much like a nightmare to him.

* * *

Nico slumped down into his seat in World History. He touched the bandage he had plastered over the scrapes he had gotten. It's stupid, he thought, how injuries from the dream world can stick with you in the real world. He shook his head, still thinking about the dream that he had the night before. How could she have appeared in his dream? And how did Bianca know about her? The questions were still circling around in his mind when his silence was broken. He looked to his side.

The dark-haired girl was taking her seat next to him. She quietly sat down, but her eyes were watching him carefully, analyzing him once again. He turned away from her, but still felt her cold gaze on him. She looked as if she wanted to say something to him, but remained silent.

He shifted uncomfortably under her stare. He glanced at the clock. The bell for class to begin hadn't even rang yet. How long would she continue to stare at him? Until he cracked and looked back at her?

"What?" he finally growled in defeat, not turning toward her. He didn't want to meet those intimidating pure sea blue eyes. He wasn't in the mood for that.

"Was that really your dream?" she asked, cautiously, as if she was uncertain if she wanted to hear the answer or not. Very blunt, he thought dryly, getting to the point as soon as she opens her mouth.

"Forget about it," he mumbled. She narrowed her eyes at him, her gaze intensifying. He didn't want to think about it.

"Your sister and father…" she started. He turned toward her, astonished and a bit angry at her persistence to bring the subject up. She looked right into his dark eyes, as if she could see his soul through them. "Was that real?" She then seemed to notice the bandage he had stuck on his cheek.

Nico was debating whether to answer her or not when she turned away. She didn't bring it up again.

It was as if she had found out the answer on her own.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Yay! Chapter Two is up! So many words! But I feel obliged to write long chapters to please whatever fans I have from this story.**

**Don't worry! Camp Half-Blood is coming soon! Just look out for new chapters!**

**Thank you to gothyjulia and NoWordsDiscribeMe for being my first two (and only so far..) reviewers! Thanks so much!**

**Reviews are greatly appreciated! Tell me what you think, constructive critisms, and whatnot. Even if you hate it, tell me so. (I'm desperate!)**

**I'd really like to know what you think about Andy and Carter (though I haven't done as much with Carter yet)! More characters are coming :)**

**Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoy the story!**

**~emeraldclover527**


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